On 21 February, we returned from an eight-day tour of the Eastern part of the United States, travelling 1,535 miles by coach across seven states to perform six fabulous concerts, and giving numerous masterclasses and clinics.

Several of the concerts were at American universities and it is estimated that about 75% of Cory’s audiences had never heard the sound of a British brass band before. Typical audience reactions on Twitter were: “Never in all of my 21 years have I enjoyed a concert so much”, and “Had no idea what we were in for. #1 Brass Band on the planet. Spectacular and silky smooth.”

Most of the concerts were sold out, including a truly memorable night in Raleigh, North Carolina hosted by the Triangle Brass Band, when 1,800 people packed into the Meymandi Concert Hall to hear the band play (pictured). Earlier that day, Cory’s Musical Director Philip Harper had made a television appearance to talk about the concert, which was introduced by TV weatherman (and part time tuba player) Greg Fischel.

Cory’s commercial partner Besson supported the tour, and representative Tim Ornato was in attendance throughout, to promote the brass band genre in USA. Another tweeter said: “Thanks for introducing my daughters to British Brass Bands! Bessons may be on their next Christmas list.”

Commenting about the tour, Philip Harper said: “It was yet another high point in the current musical adventures of the Cory Band. It was fascinating and invigorating to discover more about the thirst of Americans to learn about our particular British brass bands. We performed concerts at some super universities such as James Madison University in Virginia which has truly state of the art facilities, Delaware where we were presented with a Tribute by the Governor of Delaware, Mansfield in the mountainous part of Pennsylvania, and Arcadia and Rowan near Philadelphia. A lot of these universities had their own brass band and we worked with them to help develop their skills and understanding of what we do. Our local promoters did a great job in getting big audiences for Cory, and we were blown away with their reaction and their comments. We got standing ovations everywhere, including at some concerts at the end of the first half!

After we returned from Australia in 2013 and we were planning this next tour, we particularly wanted to travel with as many bone fide Cory members as possible, so it was particularly pleasing that 95% of full-time members were with us, which made this tour even more special, and enabled an even higher standard of music-making.”

Cory Band wishes to thank all of its partners in this venture: Besson, World of Brass, 4barsrest.com, Dream Cymbals, Wright and Round Music Publishers, Eventz and Majestic Percussion